every instinct I had screamed at me to turn around and leave. But what choice did I have? My dad

s whiskey, and I was the one who had to get it for him. If I didn't, I knew there would be hell to pay. He had made that m

ing hum. Smoke hung in the air, thick and suffocating, wrapping itself around me like a noose. The people were worse, though. They were a rough-looking crowd, the kind you'd expect to see in a mobster mo

the feeling that I was being watched, that someone had already marked me the moment I stepped inside. My hands trembled as I handed over the money to the bartender, my nerves getting the best of me. I shouldn't have been he

saw him. He was standing across the room, towering over everyone else, his dark, piercing eyes locked onto me with an intensity that made my breath catch in my throat. He was striking, with a presence that was impossible to

here I was, remembered what I was supposed to be doing, and forced myself to look away. I couldn't afford to get distra

ng through me. There were three of them, all wearing sleazy grins that made my skin crawl. They reeked of beer, the ste

drawled, his voice low and greasy. "What's a pr

hest, each beat a reminder of how badly this was going, of how stupid I had been to come here. My hands were trembling even more now, and I clenched t

rab my arm. His grip was rough, his fingers digging into my skin as he yanked

atening to choke me. I tried to pull away, but they were too strong, their hands like iron around my wrists. I was trapped, surround

nd cruel, as if they could already sense my defeat. My vision blurred with unshed tears, the reality of my situation crashing down on me like a tidal wave. I was

he first tear slipp

olding me in place, and the next they were flying across the room, slammed into the walls with a force that made the entire casino go silent. He was standing in front

just happened. He had saved me, protected me from those men without even breaking a sweat. But

er that made my stomach twist into knots. I had no idea who he was, or why he had stepped in, but I could tell that

elf," he spat, his voice low and

ke a savior, didn't treat me like someone worth saving. To him, I was just another weak human, another b

ling inside me, he turned to his companion-a man I hadn't even noticed until now. "Take

aching with a pain I didn't fully understand. This night had gone from bad to worse in the blink of an eye, and

ce back at him one last time, a part of me already knowing that this wouldn't be the last time our pat